"Not that you're helpless..."

"...but sometimes,
sometimes..."

There's a particular television commercial that I wish was online so I could link to it or embed it in this post. You really need to see the expression on the boyfriend's face when his girlfriend cuts him off, but the scene runs something like this:

Boy: (facing camera) "So there's really--"

Girl: (excitedly places hand on Boy's chest, interrupting him; laughs) "There's really no reason to stick with dial-up."

I suspect this moment is supposed to play all cute, like, Isn't that adorable? They finish each other's sentences, but it doesn't. Here's why: he totally freezes. He doesn't look at her; he doesn't smile or chuckle or give any indication that he finds her stepping on his words charming. In fact, it's pretty much the opposite. His face is locked in this slightly stupid, slightly confused glaze, complete with shit-eating grin. You can almost read his mind.

Oh, DUDE! The guys SO warned me about this. She's making me look like an IDIOT.

You kind of have to feel sorry for the boyfriend (and yes, I know he's a minor character in a TV ad that doesn't even air on Canadian stations, but still). I mean, he's not challenged; he seemed to be doing fine with the syntax; and I doubt he was going to say that everyone should continue to use dial-up and just not pick up their phones when they're checking MySpace or porn sites, so what's her problem? Even when the action returns to the couple -- after cutting away to a few other people who demand faster, cheaper (and reportedly unreliable) Internet service -- he's still standing there, grinning, mute and staring at the camera, apparently stunned that his girlfriend is treating him like a child, and wondering when might be a good time to break up with her.

TRACK LISTING: Prince, "If I Was Your Girlfriend"